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Demand: Meaning and Definition of Demand

Meaning of Demand:

Demand means the desire to purchase a commodity for which the consumer has the power to purchase. So, demand has two conditions:

(1) Desire/ Willingness to purchase

(2) Power to purchase or Purchasing power

If either of the two conditions of demand are not fulfilled, demand will not come into existence. The desire for a commodity is not demand, for example, the desire of a poor man to purchase a car does not demand because he has no power to purchase it. On the other hand, a rich man has the power to purchase a car, but he is not interested in buying it. This will not also be the demand for car.

The demand for any commodity is related with a certain price, that is why, demand cannot be expressed without mentioning price. It should be noted here that demand is always expressed in terms of quantity demanded in relation to price. For example, we should say that we demand 10 kg sugar at Rs. 15/kg and not just that we demand 10 kg sugar.

Definition:

In short, demand can be defined in the following words:

“Demand means the quantity of a commodity which the people are ready to purchase at different prices”.

“The demand for anything at a given price is the amount of it, which will be bought per unit of time at that price”.

“The demand means various quantities of a given commodity or service which consumer would buy in one market in a given period of time at various prices or at various incomes, or at various prices of related goods”.

References:

Munir Ahmed Bhutta. Economics, Azeem Academy Publishers, Lahore.

Abdul Haleem Khawja. Economics, Khawja and Khawja Publishing House, Islamabad.

Manzoor Tahir Ch. Principles of Economics, Azeem Academy Publishers, Lahore.

Muhammad Irshad. Economics, Naveed Publications, Lahore.

K K Dewett & M H Navalur. Modern Economic Theory (Theory and Policy), S. Chand Publishing

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